Cycling fans in Yorkshire for next month’s opening stage of the Tour de France can say a special prayer for the competitors in a church right beside the route. St Margaret Clitherow Church in Threshfield is the only Roman Catholic Church in the Yorkshire Dales National Park and stands within a few hundred metres of the Tour’s first stage, which tackles several sharp Daleside climbs.A special Cyclists’ Mass on the evening of the first day, 5 July, will be celebrated and is to have both a cycling and an international theme, with prayers in several languages. There will also be a special display featuring the life and career of the great competitor Gino Bartali, who won the Tour in 1938 and 1948, and was crowned King of the Mountains in both events. Nicknamed “Gino th
12 June 2014, The Tablet
Tour de Yorkshire
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